New apps and iPhone options to check out

November 10, 2016

Facebook now has a Craigslist called Facebook Marketplace. Notice the small icon on the bottom of Facebook that looks like a house with shutters on it?

In November, Google is shipping Google Wifi for $129 for a single module and $299 for a three-pack. These are mini routers - kind of like Wi-Fi expanders - placed throughout your house for stronger signals.

Here is a really good one for you four-eyed people: a new feature called Magnifier allows you to use your iPhone as a magnifying glass. So, if you're in a restaurant with low lighting, you can also use the flashlight option, too. Go into Settings, General, and Accessibility to turn on Magnifier. While you're there, turn on the Zoom button, too. To use the Magnifier, just press very quickly three times on the Home button. To use the Zoom function in any screen or app, just tap three fingers to quickly turn it on. Both functions can enlarge or shrink the screen by squeezing or expanding your fingers.

Messages has some really cool features, but most are hidden and confusing. I could write a book on all the cool things it does. There are three icons on the bottom: a camera, a heart, and a box with a big "A" in it. The camera icon lets you insert a photo or video or even take a live one. The heart brings up a confusing menu of an orange circle and a movie camera icon, and on the left and the right are the three finger icons and an (^) icon.

The orange icon with a dot in it allows you to draw anything in any color, and pressing the green up arrow sends it out. The camera icon takes a video or photo, allows you to mark and draw on them, then send it out. Pretty cool!

The three hand icons let you draw with one finger, press hard to create a fireball, kiss with two fingers - just experiment with it. Pressing the "A" lets you send handwritten clips like "thank you." If you press the four gray circles below on the left, it lets you do seven cool things, like send a music clip, an image or cash. Clicking on the Store icon gets you more features. So, this may seem like a lot of stuff to learn and use, but some of it's kind of cool and others I will probably never use.

IOS 10 lets you search Photos by mountains, flowers, animals and more. In the Photos app, tap the Search icon, then type exactly what you're looking for. You can search for all kinds of scenes and objects, like beaches, cars, dogs and much more.

Siri now works within your favorite apps, and you can now send money with Siri.

Pick up your iPhone next to your ear to wake it up, then quickly swipe left to bring up your camera. Pick up your iPhone up to your ear to wake it up, swipe right and get ready for a mind blower. A menu pops up for Search and Widgets or mini apps that you can add, too. If you scroll down, you can see Siri app suggestions, weather, calendar, reminders and a bunch of other apps. If you scroll down to the bottom and click on Edit, you'll be able to add more Widgets.

Once you're at the Main Home screen, swipe down from the top to see Notifications, or swipe up from the bottom to access the Enhanced Control Center, where you can turn on a flashlight, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, rotate and brightness. While there, swipe to the left to play music.

To see lyrics in your Music app, tap or swipe up on the player at the bottom, scroll down to the Lyrics section and tap Show.

Tribe and Roger are new Walkie-Talkie apps. Wow... that's a lot of stuff to play around with!